The present invention is directed to cottage cheese having a more porous curd. The more porous cottage cheese curd allows the cottage cheese dressing to more fully permeate the cottage cheese curd. Methods for manufacturing such cottage cheese are also provided. More specifically, the porous cottage cheese curd is prepared by the generation of gas during the initial formation of the curd or by sparging with a gas during the initial formation of the curd. The resulting gas permeated cottage cheese curd allow the formation of a less dense cottage cheese curd. The porous cottage cheese curds formed according to the present invention allow greater absorption of the dressing and, thus, alleviate or significantly reduce the problem involving the curds xe2x80x9cswimmingxe2x80x9d in the dressing often found in conventional cottage cheese products.
Cottage cheese is a soft, mild acid-coagulated uncured cheese made primarily from a milk source. Cottage cheese is made up of relatively small pieces or particles of cottage cheese curd which are suspended in, or blended with, a creamy dressing. In a conventional manufacturing process, a milk source (i.e., full fat, reduced fat, or skim milk depending on the level of fat desired) is pasteurized and homogenized. After cooling (normally to about 90 to about 98xc2x0 F. ), the milk source is inoculated with conventional lactic acid-generating culture. Rennet may also be used to aid the coagulation. The mixture is typically held at the inoculation temperature until it has ripened and a coagulum is formed. The acidity of the coagulum is from about 0.7% to about 1% (calculated as percent equivalent lactic acid).
After the coagulum has been formed and the desired acidity is obtained, the curd is cut into small pieces with agitation. The cut curd is heated to about 120 to about 130xc2x0 F. and held at that temperature for about 100 to about 140 minutes. The curds are then separated from the whey. The curds are then suspended in, or blended into, a creamy dressing to form the cottage cheese product. The resulting cottage cheese product is then normally dispensed into retail containers and then refrigerated.
Low-fat and fat-free cottage cheeses are known in the art to provide substantial amounts of protein to the consumer with an accompanying low level of fat, and thus is a desriable source of protein in many health-conscious individuals diet. Such consumers generally prefer a creamy product in which the curds and dressing are blended together. In other words, consumers prefer cottage cheeses in which the curds do not appear to be xe2x80x9cswimmingxe2x80x9d in the dressing. Such xe2x80x9cswimmingxe2x80x9d effect is often observed when the curds and dressing tend to separate in the container. The curds and dressing can be mixed prior to serving to at least alleviate the problem; in many cases, however, such mixing can not significantly overcome the problem. It would be desirable, therefore, if cottage cheese could be produced in which the separation or xe2x80x9cswimmingxe2x80x9d problem is eliminated or at least substantially reduced.
Generally, the present invention is directed to a cottage cheese having a more porous cottage cheese curd and methods for making such cottage cheese. The improved cottage cheese products of the present invention are less likely to separate into separate phases (i.e, where the curds are said to xe2x80x9cswimxe2x80x9d in the dressing) and have significantly lower densities than conventional cottage cheese. The present invention provides a cottage cheese curd which readily adsorbs the dressing and thus does not xe2x80x9cswimxe2x80x9d in such dressing. The cottage cheese curds are prepared by providing a gas source whereby a gas is introduced into the milk source during the fermentation process while the curd is actually formed. One especially preferred method of generating the gas is the addition of sodium bicarbonate to the milk source so that carbon dioxide is generated as the curd is formed. The use of sodium bicarbonate generally allows the most porous curd. Other gases can, however, be introduced during the fermentation process to provide the desired porous curd.
One object of the present invention is to provide an improved cottage cheese product comprising a blend of a cottage cheese dressing and a cottage cheese curd, wherein the cottage cheese curd is porous and wherein the cottage cheese dressing is able to permeate the porous curd. Another object of the present invention is to provide a process for preparing an improved cottage cheese product having porous cottage cheese curd, said process comprising
(1) preparing a cottage cheese dressing at a pH of about 5.6 to about 6.0;
(2) preparing a porous cottage cheese curd at a pH of about 4.0 to about 4.8, wherein the porous cottage cheese curd is prepared in a fermentation mixture using a gas source to provide a gas to the fermentation mixture during the formation of the curd, whereby the gas forms pores within the curd; and
(3) blending the cottage cheese dressing and the porous cottage cheese curd together to form the improved cottage cheese product. These and other objects and advantages of the present invention were be apparent to those skilled in the art upon a consideration of the present specification.